Comparative Digital Archaeological Studies

This collection hosts information from Phase I and II of the Center for Digital Antiquity and DPAA Comparative Digital Archaeological Studies Project. Phase I information includes a report and GIS data. The draft report covers the Innovation Objectives of work during the project: organizing data; utilizing exploratory natural language processing; and creating a probability map for successful recovery of archaeological materials. All of this is designed to improve DPAAs data interoperability and reuse.

These materials were primarily written and compiled by Brian McCray as part of his postdoctoral fellowship with the CDA. DPAA staff, especially Dr. Jesse Stephen and Hannah Fleming, helped design the project and structure the reports. Dr. Christopher Nicholson, Director of CDA also designed the project, as well as providing database and modeling expertise toward producing the project deliverables. He also edited and prepared reports and images.

The Innovation Approach and Methodology was conducted between March 2022 and August 2023 in Tempe, Arizona at Arizona State University. Two trips to DPAA offices in Hawaii were taken by McCray in June 2022 and May 2023 to gather data and to present the project and its findings. The work collected and digitized archaeological records related to DPAA’s work in Cambodia and the primary product was a probability map of Cambodia that shows the statistical likelihood of conducting a successful field mission at any location within the country, based on whether or not material was recovered by previous field missions to Cambodia undertaken since the late 1980s.